Abstract
The diet of Cattle Egret chicks in the lower Soummam valley, Algeria, was investigated in 1998 and 2006, when 145 and 23 regurgitates were collected, respectively. In 1998, 1 698 individual prey items were identified. Insects formed the bulk of the diet of chicks: 94% in terms of frequency, 71% in terms of mass. Orthopterans were dominant, especially in terms of biomass (22% by frequency, 58% by mass), whilst Dipterans were well represented in numbers (59% by frequency). Vertebrates, despite their lesser frequency (3%), contributed 23% by mass of the diet. In 2006, 441 prey items were identified. The contribution of insects decreased to 79% by frequency and 15% by mass (mostly Orthopterans) but vertebrates made up a higher frequency: 20% of prey items and 85% by mass of the diet. The availability of prey items was not correlated to their occurrence in the diet, suggesting that the Cattle Egret is a selective predator, with adults selecting prey species for their chicks. A drought in the spring of 2006 increased the availability of fish and lizards to the Cattle Egrets.
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